Fading Away
by Raphaelfanguy4real
Summary: This was the first time he'd ever been evenly matched with someone, completely and utterly matched to a 'T', he couldn't win or lose, how can you when you're fighting yourself?


_**this is just a short one, the idea had been floating around in my head for AGES until i wrote this so i hope you like it, there were a few**_ _ **other**_ _ **versions i made but this is my favorite. Once again, please enjoy and review!**_

Raphael groaned, blinking the sleep from his eyes, and frowned. What time was it, why hadn't he gotten up to practice, and why hadn't fearless yelled at him for sleeping in yet? With a grunt, the red masked terrapin sat up and rubbed is head before stretching in a yawn. He wasn't complaining, maybe it would be nice to have a day where they didn't have practice, Leo did that sometimes. He licked his sleepy lips and rolled out of bed, yawning again. When Raphael opened the bedroom door he heard the murmur of voices from the kitchen. Leave it to Mikey to make a big breakfast on a free day. But as Raph drew closer, he stopped, frowning.

"That was a good practice, guys." Leo's voice declared, "you all did really well." Raph furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Thanks, Leo." Mikey's voice said happily, "do you want fried or scrambled?"

"Scrambled." Leo replied, "and Don, you did great in the sparring." Raph looked up at the clock, it was already nine, after usual morning practice, but they hadn't had practice today, or had they just not woken Raph for it?

"Thanks, Leo, but i think we should all respect that death dragon Raph pulled off." Raph's jaw dropped. What was Donnie talking about? Were they all insane?

"It was nothing." a voice Raph barely knew said, making his eyes widen further. He knew someone always thought their voice sounded different because of some weird science crap, but that was the voice he knew from recordings and home videos. That was _him_! Raphael's heart started beating hard and fast, breathing coming in shallow as his brothers and his other self continued their conversation. He didn't know what to do in this situation! There was a freaking other him in there! What would they think if he barged in and there was suddenly doubles?

"I have to say, Leo, you're doing a great job taking up the slack recently." the Raphael inside praised, sounds of surprised joy came from inside.

"Thanks, Raph, are you in a good mood today or something?"

"Yeah." Raph clamped a hand over his mouth, backing away. And why would they want him back, when this one was obviously a better brother? How had this other one even gotten here? He hesitated, and then ran from the lair, through the sewers, not really sure where he was going.

"Whoa! Raph, where's the fire, man?" Raph skidded to a halt before he ran into Casey and April, who were walking toward the lair. "Was there a bug or something?" Raph shook his head, he didn't know how to explain what had happened, he'd been replaced, somehow. Why? How had he been replaced?

"Raph! It's ok!" April said, reaching toward him, "what happened? Is anyone hurt?" he shook his head again.

"You- you didn't see me, alright? I...I wasn't here. I have to go!" he ran into another tunnel, leaving the two confused humans behind him. What was he supposed to do? Raph found he wasn't moving and turned, April had her hand out and was holding him in the air. "Hey!"

"Raph, you're obviously panicking, what happened? Where are the guys?"

"Back at the lair." Raph said, "but you don't understand, April, I have to go!" he tried to break from her telekinesis, but to no use as they started to the lair, April dragging him along. "No! I can't go back there right now! April please!"

"Tell us what's wrong." April insisted, looking up at him. Raph crossed his arms. They were going to think he was crazy.

"There's another me." he finally confessed, looking away. "I don't know, he took my place or something but it isn't me! I swear, something's going on and-"

"You are crazy." Casey snorted, "let's just keep going, April, maybe Don accidentally spilled some chemicals on him or something.

"No! Casey, you don't get it!" Raph roared, "This one is better than me! He's a better brother! And they don't care that he's not me! They don't...they don't even know!"

"You are insane." April asid, "there can't be more than one you, Raph, it's impossible." they were getting close to the lair. "Come on, where are they?"

"Eating breakfast, but don't bring me in there!" Raph snarled, trying to get away from her psychic hold, "please, April, I'm begging you!" again, they ignored him and proceeded into the lair, toward the kitchen. Voices came from inside.

"This is delicious, Mikey." Donnie was saying to murmurs of agreement.

"Hey, guys!" April called, "missing someone?" Leo appeared at the door instantly, brow furrowed.

"What do you- holy shell! Another Raph? Donnie, come look at this!"

"No! April! I told you! They don't understand, i have to get out of here!" Raph yelled at her, glaring at everyone. Don, Mikey, and the not-Raph appeared in the doorway behind leo. Not- Raph's eyes turned white with anger and a small smile of malice crept onto his face. "I told you, there's another me! I've been replaced! Let me go!"

"Holy chalupa!" Don said, eyes wide, "let him down, April, can you just keep him from running?"

"Sure." Raph felt his feet touch the floor and he took two steps back.

"Who are you?" the not-RAph demanded, pushing forward, "are you a clone? An imposter? What is your plan?"

"You're the imposter!" Raph yelled at him, "but I don't care, you're obviously better at this than me!"

"April, what's going on?" Leo demanded, looking at the human girl in shock and anger. "Who is this? Where did you find them?" April and Casey were just as shocked at seeing the not-Raph.

"I don't understand." April gasped, "we thought Raph was insane or something, he said there was another him, that he'd been replaced, and tried to run for it. I held him because i thought there was an accident in the lab that gave him hallucinations or something, but...there's really two of him!"

"Which one of you is the real Raph?" Mikey asked, pointing at the two bickering turtles. They stopped their argument and looked at him.

"Mikey, it's me!" Raph said, placing a hand on his chest. "You have to believe me, i woke up and this guy was in the kitchen with you, so i ran for it because he's nicer than i am." the not-Raph rolled his eyes.

"Real? we're both real!" he sneered, "this Raphael is angry all the time! He hurts you, Michelangelo, don't you want a brother who likes you?"

"I do like you!" Raph snarled, glaring at the not-Raph. "He just admitted he's a fake!" everyone looked back and forth between them, obviously confused. Raph groaned, and turned away, staring at his hands, which to his shock, were turning gray.

"That doesn't make sense." Leo said, scratching his head. "You're the one that appeared in the sewers, he's been with us all morning. We all know who the fake is, who cares if Raph has been ating nice lately? I think it's great!" he folded his arms and Raph stared at them, feeling a numbness creep up into his fingertips.

"What? Leo! Please!" he begged, eyes wide. "I mean, I'm all for you guys having a nicer brother, but i need brothers too!"

"You Probably have different brothers." Mikey said, "you just aren't our brothers."

"Remember the time we pranked Leo by putting itching powder on his mask?" Raph asked desperately, Mikey frowned.

"Well, yeah, I do. You remember that? You're not even Raph."

"He probably doesn't!" Raph yelled, pointing at the not-Raph. "Ask him! I dare you!" they all looked at not-Raph, who rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I'm your brother, guys. The day we met Casey there were footbots in the lair on accident, remember?" they all nodded, Raph stared at him.

"Wh-what?" he gasped, feeling the numbness spread to his hands. "No! I don't believe this! I have to get out of here!" and he ran, he felt april trying to hold him, but it was like she couldn't get a hold, he looked at his fists, the tips of his six fingers were disappearing, and he was turning gray up to the middle of his forearm. "No! I am real!" he gasped, brushing his fingers against his mask tails. "I'm Hamato Raphael!" they grayness started to recede, slowly. He sighed in relief and halted, listening. He thought he heard something…

"So, you think you're real, do you?" it was not-Raph. "You aren't, at least you won't be when I'm done with you."

"H-how did you get here?" Raph demanded, "stay away from me!" the not-raph ignored him and stepped closer.

"I'm a ninja, Raphael, just like you." his eyes glowed a brighter green. "I am you, Raph, trust me on this. I'm the better version of you, if you let me, I'll take your place and you will fade away. It's selfish of you to hold on so tightly to your identity, you cause so much pain."

"Liar!" Raph yelled, pointing a shaking finger at not-raph. "It's not selfish! It's right! I'm the real Raph!"

"We are both real." not-Raph laughed. "Trust me friend, it really is better this way. I'm just as strong as you are, but I'm a little more levelheaded, smarter, and nicer than you are too. I'm everything you can be and more, I'm what you should be." he laughed crually. "What you would be if you weren't just a hotheaded jerk."

"I-I-that's not all i am!" Raph insisted, backing away from not-Raph. "Just leave me alone! Go away! You can't be real!"

"But i am Real, friend. I'm the better version of you, admit it, you want to be me. And since you can't be, you might as well just die!" green ghostly light beamed from his eyes, and Raph felt himself start to dissolve again. He kept shouting his name in his head, he couldn't just fade away, he couldn't! Raph clenched his fists and charged at not-Raph, if he could defeat this guy, it would all be ok.

"Get away!" he growled, "These are my brothers! Not yours!" Not-Raph laughed and sparred against him, blocking every move Raph threw at him, Raph did the same to him. Every time he did anything, not-Raph had the block, every attack Not-Raph had, Raph was in the right place to stop it. They were equally matched. Neither of them could win unless Raph finished dissolving, and he couldn't let that happen to him. With a roar of anger, he caught not-Raph's fist again, only to have his opponent catch his own. They stared into each other's eyes, glowing green and emerald.

"You are real, for now. But even now, you are disappearing." not-raph sneered. "you know this is the best thing to happen, admit it. You want me to win." Raphael looked down and saw that both his legs up to his knees were gone, and fading fast. He could barely feel anything there, and his fists were gone too, grayness overtook him and he gasped, falling to what was left of his knees, staring at his arms as they disappeared, then the dissolving moved onto his shoulders and chest. He gasped, without any support, and fell to the ground, feeling his spirit get eaten away. Raphael heard voices and looked up, darkness crowding his vision. The last thing he saw before he vanished was not-Raph's sneer as he stood with Raphael's brothers, and then Raphael was gone.

* * *

Leo was accustomed to a scream waking him up at least once a week, one of his brothers from a nightmare. What he was definitely not accustomed to was the sobbing that came through the wall he shared with Raphael, he had never heard the green eyed turtle sob like that. Raph never woke up with a nightmare, Raph never bolted upright screaming. If he had nightmares, he didn't let anyone know. And then, that wasn't the only reason Leo was frozen with shock at hearing this from his younger brother's bedroom. Raph had been in a coma for two weeks, the life support the only thing keeping him from being a corpse, they were beginning to worry he was gone for good. Realizing what this meant, Leo tumbled out of his bed and scrambled to the door, he ran to the one next door and stood frozen in the doorway, staring, a smile of relief on his face. Raph was sitting up in his bed, hugging his knees and hunched over miserably, but he was awake. He was alive. Raph was home.

"Raph!" he said joyfully, running in as he heard Mikey's and Donnie's doors fly open. "You're awake!" Raphael's head jerked upright, Leo was shocked to see his soaked masked and his face with tears tracks streaking down it. "Are you ok? Was it a nightmare?"

"L-Leo?" Raphael choked out, staring at Leo like he wasn't real. "What-where's not-Raph?" Leo frowned.

"What? Raphael, you've been in a coma for two weeks, we were starting to think…" he trailed away and shook his head. "How does your head feel?" Raphael scowled.

"My head? Fine, Leo, what happened?" he insisted, as Donnie and Mikey came in, faces lit up happily. "The last thing i remember is fighting that not-Raph, and dissolving, i stopped existing, why am i back?"

"Must have been a dream." Donatello said, checking Raphael's pulse. "Shell, Raph, don't scare us like that! We thought we would lose you for good! Actually, we were thinking we should pull the plug and let you go." Raph blinked, Leo bit his lip. The conversation the day before was the reason no one had been sitting in here, they hadn't wanted to look at the brother they'd soon be burying.

"Die? I was gonna die? Leo, tell me what happened! Please!" he insisted, Leo sighed.

"We were in a fight, right? Well, one of these gang members got a really really really lucky hit on the back of your head, knocked you out cold instantly. We all panicked, the purple dragons aren't supposed to be a threat. So, we finished the fight and got you home in minutes, you've been in a coma ever since." Leo rattled off, still shocked to find Raphael alive, awake, talking, and not even hurt.

"I missed you Raphie!" Mikey cried, diving onto Raphael's bed and wrapping his arms around him. "I-I thought you w-were gonna d-d-die!" he sobbed, Raph stared at him like he couldn't quite comprehend what was going on, and rubbed Mikey's shell after a moment.

"Hey, it's ok little brother." he soothed, "I'm here now I just…" he shook his head. "It was so real, i woke up and there was another Raphael with you guys, you thought he was me. He was nicer, so i left. I knew you deserved a better brother like that, but then...i dunno...April found me and made me come back. And i guess i wanted to be your brother still…" he groaned. "Nothing makes sense! I was turning gray and dissolving, because you all thought i was an imposter, i left, and the not-Raph followed me. We fought, but of course i couldn't beat myself. Only i turned all the way gray and dissolved, so he finally won. I just...i remember dissolving into nothing and feeling my spirit die...and then i woke up here."

"It was just a dream, Raph." Donnie said, "really." Raph frowned, but nodded.

"Yeah, i guess it was a dream." he agreed, then grinned. "I have to say, I'm relieved."

"It's really impossible for that to happen, Raph." Leo reminded him, "but i wouldn't mind if you were nicer." Raph rolled his eyes. "Just kidding, really. I'm just relieved you're alive." he sighed, "thanks, for waking up Raph." Raphael nodded, smiling, as he looked around his bedroom. The drum set had been pushed into a corner to make room for Don's life support system, but other than that is was the same as it always had been. He caught sight of himself in the mirror, and for one moment, thought he saw the reflection's eyes glow an unearthly green.


End file.
